The House: Its Origins and Evolution

Stephen Gardiner’s challenging new edition of his worldwide history of the house comes at a time of profound unrest in domestic architecture. Mr. Gardiner clearly shows how the collapse of traditional values since World War II has been mirrored by the new architectural emphasis on materialism, bringing a disregard for the lessons of the past and a loss of contact both with human requirements and with nature as a source of inspiration. The House offers an enlightened overview of the development of house and home, from its beginnings in the caves of early man through the variety of structures that have since evolved—from mud huts and Chinese underground villages to Georgian Arts and Crafts—influenced by climate and materials but also by culture, custom, and religious beliefs. Mr. Gardiner’s comprehensive and panoramic survey lucidly presents an enormous range of information. He succeeds in showing why people have historically built as they have, and how they think about the houses they design, explaining why, from being merely a shelter, the design of a house has come to express ideas about space, aesthetics, customs, and culture. Now, after the twentieth century’s violent swings from tower blocks to postmodernism and neo-traditionalism, we face a new danger: the creeping sprawl that swallows up much of our countryside. Recognizing this threat, Mr. Gardiner nonetheless highlights a strand of hope, a vein of architectural excellence that runs through the chaotic postwar picture and points the way ahead. With 112 black-and-white photographs and drawings.